Warhammer 40k: One For All and All For None
by TheKnightOfMalta
Summary: On the world of Tytus men and women are trained from a young age to serve in the imperial army as a group. They hold the will of the Imperium and Emperor above all even to go so far as to see themselves as less than pawns to be used. Regardless of these facts, the Guardsmen from Tytus are known for their excellent service records; but what does the Imperium know of their Commissars


One For All and All For None

A Warhammer 40k Story

(The Following exert is a basic history of the Warhammer 40k universe. The true story is much bulkier and as such is much too daunting to be placed in a story such as this. It is recommended that one should read up on such story at ones own leisure. Be advised, you are walking on some very thin ground, one false step and you will most likely be engulfed by this thriving and still developing universe.)

"It is the 41st millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die.

Yet even in his deathless state, the Emperor continues his eternal vigilance. Mighty battle-fleets cross the daemon-infested miasma of the warp, the only route between distant stars, their way lit by the Astronomican, the psychic manifestation of the Emperors will. Vast armies give battle in his name on uncounted worlds. Greatest amongst his soldiers are the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Marines, bio-engineered super warriors. Their comrades in arms are legion: The Imperial Guard and countless Planetary Defence Forces, the ever-vigilant Inquisition and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from liens, heretics, mutants – and worse.

To be a man in such a times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales o those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There s no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods."

They were being herded onto the drop ship like a horde of cattle being lead to a slaughter. Most of the men gathered outside looked young. They were all at about the right age to be enlisted in the Guard, or conscripted depending on their personal preference. The morning dew barely crept out of the small recruitment center of Tytus. Tytus was a fringe world as was known to breed exceptionally good Guardsmen. Most of which never saw their birth home after being shipped off world. It was customary that Tytus Guardsmen wear facial masks to block their face from view. This was not a tradition on Tytus, but rather an acknowledgment of service. In the Guard, these men knew they were all apart of something much larger than a few thousand men and so to signify this they hid their faces behind bandanas marked with the symbol of the Imperium; a large eagle supported by a black background. Another tradition of the Tytus corp was to never give their names. They were all given a number before being enlisted and that is how they were identified and ordered. A Tytus Guardsman who gave his name was looked down upon as being thought to think that he or she sees themselves as an individual above all. The Tytus motto was thought amongst themselves to be unique; 'One for all and all for none'.

Commissar Vektor 'Krieg' Hartman watched the lines of men huddle into the drop ships endowed in their Guard Uniforms with the signifying black bandana covering each and every one of their faces. He himself had one of these very same bandana's as Tytus was his home world. He did not wear his like the rest as instead it rested contemptuously around his neck waiting eagerly to be draw into place. It was hanging loosely in its state and gave off a aura of untidiness to those around him. "Commissar Krieg.. we understand that Tytus is your home world and know that it is odd to ask this of you." The Lieutenant said, offering Vektor a small glass of ale. Vektor shook is head slowly "No thank you - I understand the predicament Colonel. I just wish to know why you would ask me to lead men from my own planet to their deaths?" Vektor said fiddling quite childishly with his bandana as he glanced at the rather large man sitting in the chair opposite him at the conference table. "We know how well you preform Commissar, you are a top tier man yourself and how they let you stay as such a demeaning rank I will never know. For reasons unknown, I was told to get you back here to lead these fresh faced recruits into a living nightmare. We, being the Lieutenant and myself believe you have exactly the right aptitude to lead a brigade of our conscripts. Teach these draft dodgers a lesson and what have you." The Colonel said, occasionally motioning his hand where he deemed it justified to emphasize his words. "I understand Colonel.. but you no doubt understand I am a Commissar, therefore I -" "Therefore you have no official rank in the Guard, I know Commissar. That is why you will not be leading the regiment instead you will be leading a squad of roughly twenty six of the most distrusted conscripts on the roster. " The Colonel cut him short. This Colonel had an awful lot to say and could say it in as few words as possible, which saved Vektor the effort of having to listen to the large man ramble. How he was going to lead twenty six conscripts against the enemies of the Imperium he had no clue, none the less these conscripts were of his own home.

"Twenty six men under my command at once, no doubt we will be thrust into the thick of the fighting, if I am right to assume... that leaves me with about half of the men at my disposal since I will undoubtedly lose a few in the opening salvo. What do you recommended I do with those who prove to be difficult to keep under control?" Vektor said raising an eyebrow while still fiddling with his bandana. The Colonel stared at him as if he were far away. A creeping smirk edged onto the mans face and sure enough Vektor heard the sentence he had been expecting. "Then, Commissar Krieg, I do believe that would earn them the right to medication. No doubt a healthy dose of a bolt pistol round will set them straight.. mind you, it should be administered to the head.. just to notify you In the event you're medical skills are not up to par." The Colonel chuckled. This Colonel was in charge of the forces on the ground and was Vektor's higher up. He was also from off world and had proved thus far to not to be to Vektor's liking, except his skill at saving time and breath. The Colonel lighted a pipe of what smelt to be a high grade of tobacco and nodded towards the door. "The Lieutenant will brief you on your accommodations and anything else you may need. I'm sure we'll have a chance to chat if need be before the orchestra begins its buildup. Till then Commissar." he said taking a puff from the pipe. Vektor brought his bandana up to cover his face and narrowed his eyes harshly though his voice contained no emotion. "Till then, Colonel." Vektor replied walking out of the room at a brisk pace, the lieutenant right behind him.

The Commissar kept up his pace with the young woman trailing behind him, stumbling to keep up with the daunting man. "Excuse me! Commissar! Please wait!" she pleaded stumbling here and there in her combat boots which seemed too large for her feet. Vektor glanced over his shoulder and took a few more paces before coming to a slow stop. The woman stopped next to him and gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you Commi-" "Where are my men located lieutenant?" Vektor asked turning to her with a very vicious look in his eye. The lieutenant took a tentative step back; she was also from off world and had barely been on the planet three days, unlike the Colonel, this man invoked fear from her. She felt sympathy for the conscripts who would be under his steely gaze soon enough. "They are awaiting us out back.. you will all be taken to the cruiser together and will remain away from the main force of men. I believe you'll be dropped with a regiment of Cadians Commissar." She answered as quick and as clearly as she could. Vektor held her gaze a while longer before looking back down the hallway. "Good." he said, taking a step forward and continuing his previous pace down the hallway. "C-Commissar!" she stuttered before managing to keep pace with him this time as he trekked down the long hallway. "Anything else you would like to notify me of Lieutenant?" Vektor said without turning to look at her. She was barely a step behind him and was trying her hardest to not stumble over and bump into him "I'll be joining you on this op, that way you'll have a vox channel to the Colonel at all times. Consider me your field officer." The Lieutenant piped up. She thought she heard the man scoff quietly but it was hard to tell with the way he walked as well as the bandana that muffled his speech. She hadn't gotten a good look at him when he had come into the conference room ahead of schedule. He stood by the large observation window and never turned towards the room. It was almost like he held a vigil over the mass of men that kept being taken away from their homes, as if he had already signed them all off as dead.

She had been on the planet a very few days before being assigned to serve under him by the Colonel and she was ultimately surprised at first. Her? A Lieutenant to serve under a Commissar? She brooded around her quarters all night thinking about it until she walked in on the his solitary figure who gave her no hint of weakness. He stood tall and proud but never showed his pride. His eyes shone a magnificent perplexing red and from what she could see, which she guessed was from age, his hair was a fairly odd color of white. When he first spoke up when the Colonel had entered and called his name, her thoughts of age nearly dissipated. His voice was deep but young and seemed to play a gamble with its words. How he addressed the Colonel was very much unorthodox, even for a Commissar. The Lieutenant had flinched surreptitiously throughout their meeting as she felt the Commissar might be killed for such mindless unorthodoxy. The hallway of which they walked was sparsely lit, though it was lit just enough that she noticed his daemon like eyes glaring at her over the top of the bandana he wore before returning to their forward stance. She did not feel safe with him in the hall way. Every thing about him read death and his glare, the thing she had just suffered from seemed to rip her soul apart at its very core. She was so wrapped up in thought that when they reached the doorway the Commissar had to push against her chest to keep her from bumping her head on the door frame. The Lieutenant jumped back startled and let out a soft yelp as her heart nearly exited her chest. The man glared at her again which did her no favors. She calmed herself down and walked through the doorway ahead of him, his eyes following the back of her head as she walked by.

Outside stood the squad of twenty six men and women, all of which were enveloped in chatter. A idle Valkyrie sat immobile on the launch pad with its doors open awaiting its cargo for transport to the battle fleet that loomed over head. Around the edges of the pad stood various Guardsmen with las rifles in hand, no doubt to stop the conscripts from attempting to escape their fate or at the very least deter them. Vektor took a single step outside and stood in front of the doorway watching the conscripts ignore him and continue their chatter, only a few noticed and out of them only two stood silently at attention. He noticed the Lieutenant seemed irritated at something but what it was she was irritated at was not revealed until she quite suddenly shouted loudly. "COMMISSAR ON DECK YOU INGRATES! GET IN LINE!" she yelled, her clear Cadian accent cracking through her speech. All of the men stopped dead, at least those who had not noticed Vektor dawned in his red and black overcoat along with the standard Commissariat hat. They all hurried into a standstill line and stood at attention. Vektor stood at the door way until the Lieutenant turned to him, her accent somehow hidden behind a irregular speech pattern for her. "There you are Commissar, their all yours." She said motioning with her hand towards the fearfully still conscripts. "I had no idea you were Cadian Lieutenant, what a delightful surprise." he said chuckling, which sent shivers down the lieutenants spine. His chuckling echoed deeply and she could not help think he severely disliked her. Her thoughts were cut short by a conscript shouting out. "Hey! I thought Commissar's weren't supposed to be from the recruitment planet. Whats going on?" A conscript in the middle of the line stated, drawing all attention to the black bandana which draped around Vektor's neck yet again. Mutters throughout the line broke out which seemed to severely irritate the Lieutenant again. "YOU WILL REMAIN QUIET UNTIL SPOKEN TO BY EITHER THE COMMISSAR OR I! AM I UNDERSTOOD?!" she shouted again, cutting off any conversation. If anything, she seemed to be more of a Commissar than the Commissar himself. Vektor sighed and placed a large hand on top of the Lieutenants head. To him she looked quite young as she froze up at his touch and only dared to move her gaze to him. His gloved hand ruffled her hair lightly and did not grip onto her skull. "Calm down Lieutenant, I understand their thoughts and will allow them to speak amongst themselves for now. Also, please refrain from shouting we me next to you, I don't know if you've been told but you have a rather loud voice." Vektor chuckled.

The Lieutenant stayed absolutely still. The fact that he was not gripping her made her very uneasy. In fact, she resisted the urge to swat his hand away and check to make sure her short cut blonde hair had not been darkened by the Commissar's gloves. "Ye-ye-yes sir." She stuttered out before he lifted his hand away. "Good." he replied turning his attention to the conscripts who had remained silent. "I'm only going to say this once, so keep quiet and listen. We wont be deployed with the rest of the Tytus forces, instead we will be deployed along with the main Cadian force. Yes, I am from Tytus, no I will not treat you with sympathy because we are from the same world. If you step out of line I will kill you. If you retreat without ordered I will kill you. If you do not follow my orders in combat, I wont have to kill you as you will most likely die regardless. Am I understood guardsmen?" he said eying each of them coldly. "YES COMMISSAR!" they all replied simultaneously. "Then get in the Valkyrie we're holding up the fleet." He ordered as each guardsmen turned grabbing their gear and getting situated inside the Valkyrie. The Lieutenant stayed close to the Commissar who hung back allowing the men the chance to get situated before stepping up into the bay of the Valkyrie. He turned and offered her a hand which she stared at shocked. "Just because I shoot men and xenos alike for a living, does not mean I can't be a gentleman." he said, his facial features hiding any smug smirk he wore. She look his hand and sat down next to him in the Valkyrie. "Before I forget lieutenant, mind me asking you're name?" Vektor said, finally drawing down his bandana and removing his Commissariat hat which revealed his rather young appearance below. His snow white hair falling quite fashionably over his forehead. His crimson eyes stared at her as if awaiting a very important answer. The Lieutenant allowed her accent to flow through so that she could give him the correct pronunciation of her name "Violetta, Violetta Stark." She said staring back. "You know what that makes you Violetta?" Vektor said pulling his bandana back to his face and placing his hat back upon his head. The two conscripts who had noted the Commissar's arrival had seated themselves in front of them and did the same as the Commissar and pulled their bandanas over their mouths as well. Violetta looked at the Commissar questioningly before asking "What?" she asked curiously. "An Individual." Vektor said before turning away and staring out the bay window of the Valkyrie. He rapped with his fist harshly against the metal door to the cockpit to signify the all clear and the bay doors slid shut and sealed. "One for all.." the Commissar said loud enough for most of the men to hear. "And all for none!" those who heard surprisingly shouted back. The closest conscript to Violetta held out a spare bandana for her, the person offering it was a rather strange looking woman. Violetta eyed the bandana suspiciously. "Take it, or else you aren't allowed to be around my men." Vektor said without facing the two of them. Violetta eyed it for a few more seconds before taking it and mouthing her thanks, tying it into place. "Good. Now you can be my Ace in the hole. Ace-1." Vektor said glancing out of the corner of his eye. The Valkyrie's engines blared to life as an ever rising screech signified take off was imminent. The ship suddenly shot forward as it took off, they would soon arrive at the battle fleet stationed above and transported to the front lines. The flight was to take roughly a week. Just enough time for Vektor to get his conscripts sorted out.


End file.
